Ferrell's slam gets a split for Cougars

The Cleveland State baseball team let a win get away Tuesday in the first game of its nonconference doubleheader against visiting Georgia Perimeter, and the Cougars almost did it again in game two.

But they regrouped after losing a six-run lead and won 10-6 in eighth innings after their 7-5 opening loss.

Cody Ferrell, who tripled in two first-inning runs in game two, blasted a bases-loaded home run after reigning TCCAA player of the week Cody Hooper was intentionally walked in the eighth inning. Lance Rorex began the bottom of the eighth with a single and went to second on Troy Zawadzki's sacrifice bunt, and Ryan Casteel singled before Hooper was walked to set up Ferrell's grand slam.

Scott Spears got the pitching win in relief for Cleveland State (23-12), which had RBI hits from Casteel and Hooper on the way to a 6-0 lead. Jaime McMillan, who had a three-run homer and an RBI double in the first game for Georgia Perimeter, doubled in two runs to start the second-game comeback.

The Jaguars scored four runs in their last at-bat to win game one, which included a two-run triple by Hooper, RBI doubles by Brandon Rader and Casteel and a Rorex RBI single for the 5-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Sophomore cleanup batter Hooper earned the league honor by going 5-for-8 with two homers, two doubles, eight RBIs and four runs in the Cougars' doubleheader sweep at Dyersburg State. He was batting .423 with a league-leading 11 homers and 45 RBIs going into Tuesday's games.

* Bryan 16, Tennessee Temple 6: At Dayton, former Temple player Joseph Delrosario went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs scored against his old team, and Josh King was 3-for-5 with a homer, a double and three RBIs for the Lions (16-23). Steven Brown also was 3-for-5 and Shane Clawson and Pablo Rodriguez each doubled twice and matched him with two RBIs. Rodriguez scored three runs and Clawson crossed the plate twice, and Jonathan Davis was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.

Robby McIntyre was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs for Temple (8-25), and Colby Dixson and Tyler Cross had two-run homers.

* Cumberland 17, Lee 16: At Lebanon, Tenn., the NAIA's fourth-ranked Bulldogs edged the No. 8 Flames in a game with 38 hits and two seven-run at-bats. Troy Frazier, who was 4-for-6 with two homers and four RBIs for Cumberland (29-7), doubled and scored the winning run on Matt Greener's bloop single in the bottom of the ninth. Cumberland also got homers from Greener, David Fanshawe, Kris Miller, Max Kautz and Greg Appleton.

Lee (29-10) scored seven runs in the eighth with eight batters in a row getting on base, six with hits. Jose Cuevas doubled three times in four hits and Michael Brown homered among three hits and had six RBIs and three runs in defeat. Junior Rodriguez also had three hits and Tanner Moore, Edgar Molina, Seth Walker and Trey Burstrom had two each for the Flames. One of Burstrom's was a two-run homer, and Moore had a triple. Taylor Comford walked four times.

* Covenant 11, Sewanee 1: At Sewanee, the host Tigers scored in the first inning when Alan Komorowski doubled and Michael Joseph singled him home, but that was the only hit they got. Rascoe Dean was 3-for-3 for Sewanee, which had seven hits to the Scots' nine.

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